Tag Archives: logistics

At American Expediting we are committed to Quality Service in last mile same day on-demand delivery. From an industry standpoint there are several factors to keep in mind when providing our services. Both business to business and business to consumer models have been effected by the disruption of last mile delivery services. Business’s and consumers alike are looking for faster more efficient ways to get there orders from e-commerce providers.

The following is from supplychaindive.com . The article is part of a series perfecting last-mile delivery by Deborah Abrams Kaplan. These are some great points that are made and provide some insight on the factors affecting last mile delivery:

9 trends in last-mile delivery

How e-commerce is forcing changes in how retailers and carriers do business.

” Supply chains and carriers have business-to-business delivery down to a science, but the rise in trends like e-commerce, crowdsourcing apps and same-day delivery has upended the last-mile delivery segment. If the last mile is ripe for disruption, supply chains must begin to perfect those fulfillment processes to find new and cost-efficient ways to deliver products to customers.

Amazon Prime is spurring a lot of this innovation and disruption. The service has been growing 30% a year since 2011, says Andre Pharand, Accenture’s global management consulting lead for the postal and parcel industry.

Of course, delivering to residential customers is inefficient and more expensive than delivering to companies. Carriers are bringing single packages to low density areas, and often the resident isn’t home. Yet customers are demanding faster and cheaper deliveries.

Here are nine trends that are affecting last-mile delivery:

1. Faster fulfillment

There’s an emphasis on logistics and fulfillment due to an increase in on-demand or same-day delivery.

“We’re noticing a huge push and pressure on the fulfillment side to get orders turned around on a much faster scale and pace than a lot of the technology is capable of doing today,” says Michael Armanious, vice president of sales and marketing at Datexcorp, a third-party logistics (3PL) management and warehouse solutions provider. “What normally would have taken less than an hour, all of the sudden needs to go out within minutes, which poses challenges in terms of planning.”

Examples include pharmaceuticals and food delivery. Customers want a window of delivery within a few hours. “By the time the order comes in, it has to be processed and ready to go, for us to meet that very narrow window,” says Armanious.

2. Gig economy/crowdsourcing apps

There’s no better way to demonstrate the rise of the gig economy and use of crowdsourcing apps than by looking at venture capital flowing into the last mile delivery and urban logistics sectors.

In 2015, venture capital investments in supply chain and logistics start-ups was more than four times higher than in 2014 ($1,202 million versus $388 million), said Pharand, and venture capital dollars invested in the same space in the first quarter of 2016 alone was $1.75 billion.

Companies like UberRUSH for parcels, Postmates, Deliv and even Amazon Flex provide spot-market deliveries by independent drivers. The companies post delivery jobs on their apps to alert drivers to available gigs. “Picking up and delivering ad hoc isn’t as efficient as delivering something where you have strong route management, with items in your truck and you know where you’re going,” said Pharand. But technology leverages this vehicle utilization, and those with a car (or even a bike) who want to earn extra money can do so.

These services have limited geographic reach and are not yet widespread like the legacy carriers. Usually they deliver only in larger cities. “It’s a concern for legacy carriers, but they haven’t yet made an impact,” said Pharand.

The venture capitalists are interested in companies based on information and technology, not on assets like vehicles. They are focused on companies using analytics and information to figure out how to do the job for less, and leveraging drivers with their own cars as excess capacity. “There will be a battle between the guys with the buildings and assets, versus the guys with the apps and information. The winner will be a combination of both,” Pharand said.

3. Focus on visibility

Legacy carriers have improved traceability, with proof of delivery and tracking information. Regional and local last-mile delivery organizations don’t necessarily have the technology bandwidth to provide that data.

“You end up with a mishmash of data requirements for how to communicate with them, and it makes it a lot more challenging,” says Pharand. That data is important for traceability, if a package is late or gets lost. But smartphone apps have revolutionized the process for tracking with GPS.

Now, customers can see where the driver or package is. “We’re able to do very simple and cost effective proof of delivery with signature capture at the point of delivery,” says Pharand. “We can capture if that person doing the delivery went to the physical site or not.” Although the process is not yet standardized across the board, consumers will increasingly demand the industry move in this direction.

4. Postal service evolves

Legacy carriers like the United States Postal Service (USPS) are changing with the times and continuing to grow. Given declines in mail delivery, increases in e-commerce package delivery couldn’t come at a better time.

Adding a parcel to a home delivery is only an incremental cost to the USPS, since the carrier is going to the house anyway. It’s more expensive for UPS or FedEx to make that same delivery, since it’s an independent stop.

There’s been a resurgence with the USPS in handling nonconventional deliveries as well, said Armanious. “A lot of clients are bringing them back into the fold to do same-day or multi-day deliveries of special products,” he said. And Sunday package delivery is another change.

Further change may be on the horizon, too, if other national mail services are an example. While the USPS doesn’t deliver restaurant meals, the New Zealand Post started a pilot to deliver Kentucky Fried Chicken to boost its income as its mail delivery slumped in recent years.

5. Insourcing deliveries

An increasing number of companies are using their own or shared vehicles for last mile delivery – and that includes Amazon. “Traditionally, our clients weren’t in the transport business. They didn’t own trucks or vans or vehicles, but now they’re starting to deal with a co-op with competitors or other companies in the regional area, to utilize each others’ transportation assets,” said Armanious.

Some 3PL companies now have their own local delivery services as well. They have their own vehicles and drivers on payroll for local, not long haul, deliveries. “We have a client in New York that has 400,000 square feet of warehouse and 17 vans, and all day long they shuttle the product pickups and deliveries, based on the customers’ requests,” Armanious said.

6. City warehouses

There were at least 58 Amazon Prime Now hubs in the US last year, for customers demanding same-day instant delivery. The growing trend is for organizations to build or take advantage of this urban warehouse space and have easy access to products for fast customer deliveries.

“That is the only way you can reduce speed of deliveries or transit time,” said Pharand. He says Amazon’s two-hour delivery is unheard of. “That’s what’s disrupting everyone. I haven’t heard of any retailer or delivery company that can offer a counter value as big as Amazon’s right now.”

Amazon has the first-to-market advantage, and most retailers are struggling to catch up. The large big box stores are offering two-day delivery for a minimum order, whereas Amazon is offering two-hour delivery. Three-day delivery used to be considered fast, says Pharand.

7. Carrier becomes salesman

Using Big Data, retailers can predict what else a customer might want, even if they didn’t order it. The concept of a mobile warehouse is gaining steam. The fulfiller can load noncommitted inventory into delivery trucks, allowing drivers to upsell during the delivery process.

Just as Amazon shows customers additional products they might like during the checkout process, the driver can bring items the consumer has ordered in the past or might need or want, processing a potential additional order in person. “We’re seeing this on the food side,” said Armanious, as well as with household commodities and even apparel. On the pharmaceutical side, drivers can sell pill cutters and syringe disposal products.

8. Smart technology and sensors

In addition to wanting visibility at each point in the fulfillment and delivery process, customers want to track temperature sensitive items.

“A lot of our clients are putting different probes and monitoring devices in the packages themselves,” said Armanious. This way the pharmaceutical company, frozen foods or spirits manufacturer will know the probe temperature and possibly the humidity level at every step. It’s becoming an industry standard, he said.

Fulfillment centers use weather data for planning, to add additional packing materials to account for temperature variation. If they know they’re delivering to Tulsa, OK in the summer, and the temperature will be 102 degrees, they can add extra freezer packs or dry ice. Carriers then use the probe data to route the product accordingly.

9. Delivery by self-driving cars, drones and robots

While these futuristic delivery options are being developed and tested, they’re not yet trending. But keep your eyes on them for the future.

If parcels can be delivered by autonomous vehicles or drones, that will change the game considerably, said Pharand. The highest cost in delivery is labor, which accounts for 60% of the cost. Deliveries are currently limited by labor cost, availability and shifts. Robotic delivery could be done 24 hours a day. Drone deliveries, however, may have limited use in highly urbanized areas due to regulatory and operational issues.

Robot delivery is already being tested in San Francisco for Yelp Eat24, using a Marble robot on city sidewalks. One downside? The robot needs human accompaniment in case it has a problem. McKinsey envisions envisions a future where autonomous vehicles and drones will deliver 78% of all items, with traditional delivery accounting for only 20% and another 2% by bike couriers.

Whether or not the future is autonomous, these nine trends show stakeholders throughout the supply chain are actively trying to perfect the last mile in order to keep up with greater consumer demands.”

Technology and the implementation of different more cost effective automated procedures is a constant in the logistics industry. As a company we have in the past and continue to adapt, grow and change with these developments. Our commitment will remain focused on quality of service to our customers.

You have a delivery window and no margin for error.

Whether you need to transport something across town, between cities or across the country, no one puts more reliable Same Day/On-Demand delivery solutions at your command — from bicycle messengers and couriers with cars, minivans, SUVs, cargo vans and trucks to air shipments including next-flight-out. The addition of straight trucks and tractor-trailers to our fleet allows shippers to answer the needs of their customers the same day, with overnight or LTL prices.

We’ll listen carefully to understand your exact requirements, then provide the fastest, most economical door-to-door route to make your deadline — and make you look good. Plus, you can monitor the progress of your deliveries every step of the way using our online Shipping Wizard.

Choose from three service levels:

Regular Same Day Service: Provides pickups on an ASAP basis with no hard delivery deadline. Deliveries are generally accomplished within three hours based on mileage.

Rush Service: Packages are picked up within 30 minutes and delivered within 1–2 hours, based on mileage.

Direct-Drive Service: The ultimate priority service: packages/freight are picked up within 15–30 minutes and delivered directly. No other stops made, no co-mingling of deliveries.

We’re a recognized industry leader in providing top-notch service, seasoned couriers, nationwide coverage and a “We Say Yes!” attitude. When we receive a request for service, our efforts don’t end until a viable, cost-effective solution is at hand.

From documents, small parcels, legal and medical shipments to exotic animals and pets to complete supply chain logistics solutions, American Expediting delivers dependably for its customers nationwide. We built our company one delivery at a time. We’d like to build our relationship with you the same way. To arrange Same Day/On-Demand handling of your next shipment or delivery, call 800-525-3278.

Medical Couriers and Specialty Logistics Services Providers are in the business of saving lives.

Time and time again we are transporting essential medications, specimens, blood and fluids to hospitals and patients that are saving lives and curing disease. The need for stat medications and fluids could and sometimes is the difference between life and death. We at American Expediting take this very seriously and our dedication to quality and precise specialty logistics is setting us apart. Our Medical Couriers are up to the task.

We handle everything from blood-bank transport to the delivery of essential medications in clinical trials and to aid in the fight against cancer. It is both an honor and privilege for us to be tasked with doing so. With patients and clinical staff depending on us we take every step of the process very seriously and dedicate ourselves to completing each delivery in a timely professional and compassionate way.

As a company we continue to grow and expand. We vow to continue to provide the highest quality of service to our customers.

Deliveries to hospitals and clinics from blood banks is the most essential and on demand service that is utilized by our customers. The following is a story that happens all the time. This is why we do what we do.

“October 17, 2013 did not go as anyone had pictured it. It started as a day filled with anticipation and excitement as I was admitted to the labor and delivery floor to have our first child – a baby girl we named Georgia. It was the day after my due date, so she was actually quite punctual. After a pretty easy labor and a smooth delivery of our 8 pound, 8 ounce healthy baby girl, I began feeling ill. The medical staff equated it with a drop in my blood pressure and tilted my bed back to make me feel better, which worked initially. I had lost more blood than normal during the delivery, and it still seemed like there was something wrong. My doctor told me that I was continuing to bleed and she couldn’t see where it was coming from, so we needed to go to the operating room (OR) to get a better look.

I ended up developing a very rare condition called disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) that kept my blood from clotting normally. DIC has a high mortality rate and is difficult to control. I lost over three liters of my own blood and was in the OR for more than 3 intense hours while numerous physicians, CRNAs, nurses and technicians worked to stop my bleeding. I received 12 units of blood, 6 units of fresh frozen plasma, and 2 units of platelets before I finally became stable and the bleeding was controlled. What had started as a happy, exciting day had ended in a roller coaster of emotions as my family waited to hear good news about my condition. The next morning I woke up intubated in the critical care unit where I stayed for two days before being able to move back to the labor and delivery floor with my husband and new baby girl. We stayed a total of 5 days in the hospital before we finally brought our little girl home with grateful hearts for the miracle that took place in our lives.

A few weeks after going home from the hospital I had the opportunity, along with my husband Todd and our daughter, to meet some employees from Arkansas Blood Institute. I was able to thank them and to let them see, first hand, the benefits and changed lives that resulted from the work that they do every day. It was a humbling experience to say the least.

Unfortunately, I have to say that I’ve never donated blood in the past; however, Arkansas Blood Institute has gained a lifelong blood donor after my experience. If it wasn’t for blood, plasma and platelet donors, the skilled medical staff wouldn’t have had the resources they needed to save my life and my Georgia would’ve grown up without her mother. I cannot express the extent to which blood donors have affected our family’s life. They kept our world from falling apart that day. Without them, I wouldn’t be enjoying the blessing of becoming a mother to a healthy, happy little girl. Donating blood is such an easy way that each one of us can give back and change the lives of not only recipients but their loved ones as well. My daughter gets to know her mommy in part because a dozen people decided to donate blood.”

There are stories like this coming in from all over the country because of the work of hospital staff and the dedicated courier services tasked with stat transportation. We will continue to provide this valuable service and take pride in what we do.

We are in the business of serving our customers. Time sensitive, same day on demand delivery service is how we built this company from a single man operation to having over 40 offices nationwide. We believe in QUALITY. It’s that philosophy that has strengthened our customer relationships over the years. Every customer and every shipment has an equal and important purpose or story. Our relationships are built on the trust that we will provide a quality service and experience from start to finish. American Expediting puts a great deal of importance on customer feedback. We love to hear about how we had an impact on the experience.

Below is an actual customer testimonial:

“In this business, we get plenty of ‘bad news calls’ so I wanted to share a very positive experience I had yesterday and tell you what a good job your driver, Bill P…did for us yesterday. We have some very time-critical shipments going to Japan to support the nuclear power plant debacle and this shipment was one of them…very high visibility with lots of executive stress from the client. Bill made great time, kept us updated throughout the drive and had all his documents in order. I met Bill at UA Cargo to assist in the tendering process and he was very helpful and professional.

Please extend my appreciation for a job well done to Bill and the American Expediting crew! Many thanks!”

It’s comments like this that keep driving our philosophy of quality service. We are a specialty logistics provider not only in delivery services but also in our process. American Expediting is welcoming of new challenges. Forward thinking in our process, technology and quality of service has been an integral part of our growth . As a company we are continuing to evolve and grow moving into new territory and expanding our range of industries served.

“Don’t worry about the how in same day on demand delivery. Leave that to us.”

Whether you need to transport something across town, between cities or across the country, no one puts more reliable Same Day/On-Demand delivery solutions at your command — from bicycle messengers and couriers with cars, minivans, SUVs, cargo vans and trucks to air shipments including next-flight-out. The addition of straight trucks and tractor-trailers to our fleet allows shippers to answer the needs of their customers the same day, with overnight or LTL prices.

We’ll listen carefully to understand your exact requirements, then provide the fastest, most economical door-to-door route to make your deadline — and make you look good. Plus, you can monitor the progress of your deliveries every step of the way using our online Shipping Wizard.

Choose from three service levels:

Regular Same Day Service: Provides pickups on an ASAP basis with no hard delivery deadline. Deliveries are generally accomplished within three hours based on mileage.

Rush Service: Packages are picked up within 30 minutes and delivered within 1–2 hours, based on mileage.

Direct-Drive Service: The ultimate priority service: packages/freight are picked up within 15–30 minutes and delivered directly. No other stops made, no co-mingling of deliveries.

We’re a recognized industry leader in providing top-notch service, seasoned couriers, nationwide coverage and a “We Say Yes!” attitude. When we receive a request for service, our efforts don’t end until a viable, cost-effective solution is at hand.

From documents, small parcels, legal and medical shipments to exotic animals and pets to complete supply chain logistics solutions, American Expediting delivers dependably for its customers nationwide. We built our company one delivery at a time. We’d like to build our relationship with you the same way. To arrange Same Day/On-Demand handling of your next shipment or delivery, call 800-525-3278. To see all of our services offered click here.

American Expediting is known for the fastest deliveries in the country. Our on-demand delivery is top notch. Call us, we are there in 30 minutes, deliveries an hour later. This happens thousands of times each day but a lot more goes into operating our business.

For one. We list safety as the most important aspect in everything we do. Safety of the customer’s property, Safety of our facilities, Safety in ensuring the timeliness of life saving medications and most importantly our obligation to practice safety on the road.

Each week we discuss safety throughout the country.

One item, on everyone’s mind is the tragedies caused by distracted driving.

Yes, a thousand problems can arise during a delivery. Our dispatchers and customer service representatives are capable of handling those without missing a beat.

But a driver’s safety is of utmost importance. If something tragic happens to a driver, or is caused by a driver, then nothing is going to be able to fix that. An unsafe driver can jeopardize not only the delivery itself by eliminating its chances of reaching the destination, but also the lives of others around him.

Imagine when you hear disappointing news regarding a road tragedy. Your day completely changes. You think about life very differently.

Studies have shown that using a cell phone while driving has increased the risk of having an accident by 34%.

Any kind of use fits in that category, such as:

Dialing on the keypad

Texting

Taking a photo

Inputting an address for GPS

Looking at social media

We value life dearly at American Expediting Company. The focus is on ensuring every courier follows proper safety procedures. This includes not doing any of the previously mentioned points while driving. The key is for couriers to do them when parked.

Couriers for American Expediting Company do the following while parked to avoid causing an accident:

Dial phone calls

Send text messages

Navigate and find locations

The best part is, technology is capable of improving all of these. There are hands-free speakerphones and bluetooth headsets along with apps that allow you to text and communicate in your vehicle or even while walking and delivering a package. Couriers know when to communicate over the phone and when they should hang up and talk about it later due to road conditions or traffic.

When a dispatcher has to update a courier with details on an a delivery (new address, phone number, reference and shipping numbers, etc), the courier is instructed to pull over and write down the details. The dispatcher may also send them details on their mobile app that contains all of the information they need on the delivery. Then, when the courier is parked, he or she can view the updated details.

Every driver on the road, courier or not, is at risk of causing an accident while using a cell phone. That’s why American Expediting couriers look out for other individuals on the road and encourage them to NOT text and drive. It puts others in danger and it’s important to raise awareness about it.

There are so many safety measures and protocols that can be implemented in your business. We place our efforts in encouraging driver safety for our independent contractors. And the best part is, couriers for American Expediting Company do the same by trying to improve safety out on the road. We hope that everyone is doing the same.

In our part 1 discussion about medical deliveries, we explained why communication is key to keep the customer updated on the status of a driver. Every medical courier delivery is high priority, so it’s important for us to have constant communication with the courier so we can keep the customer informed of his or status along the way. If you missed the post, check it out here.

Because of the nature of medical deliveries, it’s necessary to have trained, compliant couriers that can handle them. Blood samples, tissues, specimens, organs, supplies, diagnostic kits, biologicals including UN3733, pharmaceuticals, and more are well within the scope of our independent couriers. We transport these 24/7, 365 days a year.

Every medical delivery is critical with obvious risks involved. Each courier is OSHA and HIPAA certified and equipped with a blood and fluid spill kit to handle any medical delivery. This decreases the risks by having someone qualified and trained to handle anything that arises.

For Instance, our Spill Kit includes the following:

(1) Absorbent Powder Pack (0.75 oz)

(1) Scoop & Scraper

(1) Disinfectant Surface Wipe

(1) Mask with Visor

(1) Red Biohazard Waste Bag

(1) Pair Latex Free Exam Gloves

(2) Antimicrobial Hand Wipes

(1) Exposure Incident Form

Also, we supply the couriers with coolers, dry ice, wet ice, and gel packs when they pick up. This eliminates any obstacles with transporting items that require a cooled or frozen environment and provides peace of mind to the customer so they don’t have to worry about those necessities. If there are any additional requirements, we can do our best to find a solution.

Our goal is simply to eliminate any guesswork by sending a prepared courier.

All couriers strictly adhere to the chain of custody required for each delivery. This is extremely important when delivering from hospital to hospital, and even more so from a diagnostic center to the airlines. Because these couriers are TSA-Certified, there are zero problems when it comes to tendering at the airport.

And again, because we monitor the courier at each leg of the journey, we know exactly where the individual is at all times and can provide updates to the customer. Medical deliveries are extremely time-critical. This is exactly why we value communication.

We have the ability to track shipments with our online Shipping Wizard. And we’re always a phone call away at 800-525-3278 for any orders and questions. We’ve been doing medical deliveries for so long that we know everything that is involved with them. We take care of the customer, so they don’t have to worry.